Chapter One: First Steps
by saphyria09
Summary: Saphyria is a young oc quarian about to embark on her pilgrimage. This chapter is really to set the scene and begin Saphyria's story. Chapter two will be available shortly. This is my first attempt at fanfiction so any and all feedback is welcomed! *Disclaimer* Mass Effect, it's lore, characters and galaxy are property of BioWare.
1. Chapter One: First Steps

**Chapter One: First Step  
~~*~~**

Saphyria sat with her back against the wall of her families small quarters, playing Alliance Corsair on her omni-tool to waste time whilst waiting for yet another round of immunity-boosting implants. At almost 21-years-old her pilgrimage was fast approaching.

"Ria..?" Saphyria jumped, fully lost in her own thoughts, barely paying attention to the screen in front of her.

"Yes Papa?" she replied

"Are you ready?" came his response, already setting off on his way "Mal says he has some armour upgrades for your suit, and we have to get you down to medical for your implants. Then you should be good to go." He said his voice a mixture of sadness and excitement; sad at sending his only child, his only family out into the galaxy alone, and excited because the Pilgrimage is an important part of every quarian's life.

Saphyria rose to her feet and fell into stride beside her father, weaving through the slim paths leading between the numerous cubicles that served as private quarters for the many quarian families that lived on board the Idenna, each with their own brightly coloured curtains for decoration and individuality. Ysin'Mal was the Captain of the Idenna, Saphyria's home-ship.

"Sit still Saph," the medic chastised her again. It was difficult to sit still for so long, especially whilst her father and the medic told her again of her plans in great detail and especially as it was Saphyria who made the plans.

She would travel with the Cyniad, whose current mission was leading a small scout troop close to geth territory. Saphyria would disembark at Illium and make her way from there. She would carry only what she needed: weapons, medical supplies, and the tasteless food paste she'd be living on.

"It's alright, papa, I'll be careful, and I'll be back before you know it, you won't even have a chance to miss me," Saphyria reassured him.

"You be sure you are," the reply was short, but there was happiness in his tone.

Saphyria sat back and stared at the ceiling; this rite of passage was the single most terrifying and yet exhilarating experience of a young quarian's life, the idea of leaving the flotilla, all that you've ever known, your own protective little bubble and going it alone in the galaxy. The flotilla didn't often have non-quarian guests, and when they did the visits were short. This would be the first time that Saphyria would see most of the other races in person, an exciting yet scary thought; although she'd done her homework, she reminded herself.

Asari, live for a long time and as such are wise and for the most part peaceful, krogan also live for a long time, but instead of the peaceful existence chosen by the asari they prefer bloodshed and violence, so don't get on the wrong side of a krogan. Humans were more of a mystery, treated with fear throughout the galaxy, they'd made their presence known during their brief time as a space faring species. A lot of the galaxy viewed them as bullies, even after everything that Commander Shepard and the human Alliance fleet had done for the council; saving them from death at the hands of the turian Saren and the reaper Sovereign. The Galactic society had even gone as far as to mock Shepard and her party. But Saphyria didn't see it this way; humans knew what they wanted and they were willing to fight for it, as was Shepard. The galaxy could do with more like them, especially if the sources were right, if the reapers were coming. Saphyria shuddered at the thought and brushed it from her mind. She'd have plenty of time to think it through on her pilgrimage: she planned to find out whatever she could about the pending reaper invasion, a topic that would affect not only the quarian race, but the entire galaxy. If the quarians could help, maybe the council would be willing to help them find a homeworld, or recover Rannoch..

A few days later in her quarters, Saphyria packed her bags for the final time and looked around her small abode, this would be the last time she could call it home; when she returned she'd join a different ship and make her own name. She pulled back the orange curtain: she hated orange, always had, but her mother had chosen it before leaving the flotilla and her father had insisted on keeping them that way, as if it would bring her back. Sighing she made her way toward the stairs; her father would be just fine without her. He worked in maintenance, and there was always plenty of maintaining to do on a quarian ship, particularly ones as old as the Idenna.

She rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and came face to face with all her friends, her father's friends, the ship's captain, and her father. Saphyria smiled to herself, laughing at how she'd managed to convince herself that she'd get away without a fuss.

She boarded the Cyniad, alongside eight other quarians, seven of whom would be going on this mission deemed top secret, which left one other, also heading on their pilgrimage.


	2. Chapter Two: Pilgrimage Part One

**Pilgrimage: Part 1  
~~*~~**

Saphyria found herself standing alone in the middle of a busy docking station; docking station A-26 of the citadel to be precise. The citadel was more than she ever dared imagine; the extranet vids and tales from returning quarians did nothing to prepare her for the sheer size of the place, nor the pace in which people moved. Everybody seemed to be busy, and in a rush to get somewhere. Illium, whilst beautiful and grand, had a much slower, relaxed vibe to it, likely because it was an asari planet and the asari lived such long lives they rarely felt the need to hurry.

After a while of simply standing in the way and trying to take it all in, Saphyria made her way to the busy customs officer desk and joined the queue.

"Next" called the asari customs officer, without glancing up from the console in front of her. Saphyria stepped forward toward the officers scanner feeling apprehensive, she had been warned before leaving the flotilla that quarian's aren't viewed kindly by many in the galaxy, and her time in Illium had only served to prove this to her.  
"Name?" asked the officer in a blunt tone  
"Saphyria'Cora nar Idenna"  
"Purpose of your visit?"  
"I'm on my pilgrimage, here to.." but before Saphyria could finish her sentence the officer cut her sentence short.  
"OK, you can go, but stay out of trouble, we'll be watching you"

Saphyria moved slowly forward toward the sliding door leading to the elevator. _Great, another place where I am viewed as nothing more than scum,_ she always wondered why others returned to the flotilla when there was a whole galaxy waiting to be explored; now she was beginning to realize why.

Saphyria spent the hours following her arrival wandering round the markets of the Citadel wards, taking in all of the different cultures, shops and scenery. The sheer mass of the station was overwhelming, but also beautiful with it. Since her exchange with the asari customs officer she was on edge, watching the people around her closely in anticipation, but so far she had seen mixed responses from the few people who'd taken the time to even realize her presence. It was true that most of the individuals inhabiting the Citadel were so busy, and moving at such speed, that they didn't really take in any of their surroundings, an observation that Saphyria had found a little sad. The Citadel was such a marvel and yet they simply stopped noticing.

After a friendly exchange with a rather excitable salarian at the Citadel games store, Saphyria thought it was time to find her shelter for the night. Before her departure from the fleet her sister had sent instructions for her to find a particular turian shelter whilst visiting the Citadel. The shelter was suggested not only because they offered safe refuge for many quarians on pilgrimage, "but also because it was now quite some time since they heard from another quarian on her pilgrimage. Her sister and fellow shipmates hopes the turians in charge at the shelter would have some information for Saphyria."

Saphyria's sister was two years her elder, and had returned from her own pilgrimage 6 months previously. Upon her return she was able to offer the location of significant platinum deposits to the captain of the Ulnay and as such joined their crew. Saphyria herself was born in a rare time of low population, during which quarian families were allowed to forgo the normal rule of one child per couple. She was close to her sister and missed her dearly over the past two years, only having the chance to see her on three occasions since her return to the fleet.

With such thoughts of her sister on her mind, Saphyria found herself standing in front of an unassuming door in a run-down area of the wards. This section of the wards was much dirtier and darker than much of the Citadel, but yet it still managed to retain an air of beauty. The ships on the flotilla were built for purpose, with every spare space filled, and beauty spots were a rarity, the Citadel however was the exact opposite, with plant-life and artistry adorning the wards, and yet remaining plentiful space. She hit the intercom on the wall beside the door and waited for a response.

The door slid open almost immediately, and Saphyria jumped back a little. Her expectation was to hear a query over the intercom, not find herself face to face with a stern looking turian.

"How can I help you? Are you looking for somewhere to stay?" the turian asked, her voice kind despite the harshness of her appearance.

"My name is Saphyria'Cora nar Idenna, I'm looking for a place to stay for the night, I have credits."

"Come on in, we don't charge, however if you want to leave a donation before you depart you're welcome too," replied the turian as she stood back and waved the young quarian in.

Saphyria took a moment to look round, the place was small, it had 3 long tables adjoining down the centre, and sleeping pods lined up against the walls on either side, with what appeared to be a kitchen space at the far end. There must have been at least 50 sleeping pods squeezed into the cramped space that made even the quarian ships look spacious. But the dwelling seemed friendly. There were individuals of many space faring races milling about; a group of 3 batarians, a volus and a human sat playing cards at the end of one of the tables, and a pair of turians sat watching a vid on one of their omni-tools.

"You can get quarian food in paste form from the kitchen, I know it's not the best but it's all we have, and you're in pod 5 tonight," the turian informed Saphyria after making a few checks on her datapad. "You're welcome to do whatever you want in the meantime, within reason."

"Thanks," replied Saphyria "I'm looking for another quarian, Lia'Vael, would you happen to kn.."

The kindly turian cut Saphyria off mid-sentence, her mandibles twitched slightly as she scanned Saphyria again, presumably checking for signs of a trouble maker. "She's over at the back there," she responded, nodding in the direction of the far left corner.

"Thanks," replied Saphyria.

Saphyria reached the back corner and saw a quarian sitting cross legged on the floor reading from a data pad.

"Lia'Vael nar Ulnay?" Saphyria questioned

The quarian looked up quickly, and dropped the data pad she'd been holding as though expecting trouble. However her posture quickly changed when she saw the voice belonged to a fellow quarian; dropping her shoulders into a relaxed position, she picked up her datapad from the floor and got to her feet before responding.  
"May I help you?" Lia questioned

"My name is Saphyria'Cora nar Idenna," it was considered good manners amongst quarians to introduce yourself fully, as they wore their masks at almost all times even amongst family and so it helped in avoiding confusion. "My sister, Esme'Cora vas Ulnay requested that I seek you out upon my arrival to the citadel"

"Esme sent you? What do they want?" Lia asked, sounding slightly anxious.

"They were worried about you, no one has heard from you recently and we had reports from Tali'Zorah vas Neema that you'd run into some trouble with a volus?"

"Ahh, well yes I did, but it all worked out really. Come sit with me?" Lia started toward one of the two small windows in the room and sat beside it.

Saphyria followed her and set herself down cross legged and facing Lia'Vael, She sat patiently for a few minutes, giving Lia'Vael the time to gather her thoughts enough to continue the conversation.

"I got into a bit of trouble, Shepard and Tali'Zorah helped me," she shrugged. "There isn't much more to it I'm afraid. The c-sec officer is a bosh'tet, I've had run ins with him before, he thinks just because I'm quarian that I'm going to make trouble, but you get used to it, not everybody in the galaxy is like it."

Saphyria and Lia sat talking for a few hours before Saphyria excused herself, and, exhausted from her first day on the citadel, retreated to her sleeping pod and drifted into an easy sleep.

The next day Lia'Vael offered to show Saphyria around the Citadels Zakera wards. Saphyria saw some of the wards the previous day but leaped at the chance to spend some time seeing them again with a fellow quarian.

After a few hours of wandering round, the pair made their way down to the lower levels, Lia'Vael wanted to show Saphyria a used ship sales shop there.

As they entered they were greeted by 3 volus shopkeepers, Saphyria stood alert expecting trouble. "Greetings quarian" said one of the Volus my name is Kor Tun, I don't know if you remember me or not, we had a slight disagreement the other day." Standing in-between the other two volus, Kor Tun's greeting was surprisingly warm and completely unexpected from their greeting, and from Lia's previous experience with him.

"You mean when you accused me of stealing?" replied Lia standing her ground. "Yes, I remember."

Saphyria found herself a little uneasy with the path the conversation was taking, sure the volus had sounded friendly enough in their greeting, but nevertheless Saphyria was prepared for a confrontation should it deem necessary to back her fellow quarian up.

"Yes, well, mistake of course, I was very worried you see, my chit..." the volus was obviously uncomfortable with the situation and trying to make amends.

"Uh huh, well how can I help you now? Got something else to blame me for?" retorted Lia, her stance understandable given the unfair way she had been treated.

"No, I mean, I just wanted to talk with you, I own this establishment, and we could use someone like you, I mean um, someone with your skill. The volus started to become increasingly uncomfortable with the situatio. "We, uh, need someone to fix parts for us. The position is well paid of course, and comes with an apartment"

"And just how do you know I'm good with ships?" questioned Lia

"Well, um, I bumped into Commander Shepard and his quarian friend the other day, they mentioned your skills." admitted the volus.

"Well, now were getting somewhere," said Lia "And how exactly do I know I can trust you? How do I know you won't hire me for a day and then I'm done?"

"Oh, there are contracts of course, legal ones, for you to sign, I assure you this arrangement works well for both of us." replied Kor Tun, straightening up and regaining a little of his posture.

"OK, when do I start?" asked Lia. Saphyria looked at her in complete amazement, glad that nobody could see her expression beneath her mask.

Saphyria found herself impressed by Lia'Vael's resolve, she had obviously learned enough from her experiences during pilgrimage to look out for herself, and hoped that by the time she was ready to return home she would be as self-reliant.

"Drop by tomorrow and I'll have your contracts ready to sign, you can start as soon as you're able."

"OK, I'll be back tomorrow, and by the way, my name is Lia'Vael," Lia replied spinning on her heel, and leaving the store.

Saphyria and Lia made their way back to the shelter in silence. When they arrived they went to sit by the same window as the night before, by which point Saphyria's curiosity got the better of her. "Why did you accept that job?" she blurted out, "he was so rude to you before."

"Because" replied Lia "I don't want to go back to the flotilla, I found information a couple of months ago I could have taken back to complete my pilgrimage, but I just, well… I want more."

The revelation shook Saphyria. She'd heard of quarians not coming back from their pilgrimage, but never had she expected to meet one of these quarians. They'd always just been characters from tales to her. She was about to ask why, when Lia carried on, sensing the question was coming. "Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been easy, and well more than once I almost gave up, that night after my run in with Kor Tun I very almost got a ship there and then, but when I look at everything the Citadel has to offer, and when I think that the galaxy has so much more to offer still, I can't face going back, not yet."  
Lia turned to look out of the window for a moment, her voice a mixture of excitement and a hint of sadness. "Maybe eventually, but I want to see the great wide something that's out there, I want adventure, and sure cleaning up engine parts isn't an adventure, but it's a start," by the end she was almost pleading with Saph to see her side, and truth be told Saphyria could see it, from what she'd seen the galaxy had so much to offer.

Saphyria turned her head to join Lea in looking out of the window and quickly became lost in the events of the day, whilst sad that Lia'Vael would be leaving the fleet she was happy that she had found happiness, even if her new life had been influenced by Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah, she knew that Lia'Vael would be ok, and that was something positive she could feed back to the Ulnay.

Next morning Saphyria left the turian shelter behind and headed forward on her pilgrimage, after Lia insisted that once she was able to forward her new address to Saphyria, she could stay at her apartment any time she wanted.

Saphyria made her way through the crowded wards, eventually stopping by a news terminal; she flicked through the available vids looking for anything of interest when she happened upon a news story about a newly discovered race, the raloi. Saphyria had heard some news about the raloi and celebrations scheduled to take place to celebrate their joining the galactic community, the quarians had sent a small convey aboard a Citadel ship. She tapped the terminal and waited for the vid to load.

_Welcome to citadel newsnet, I'm Emily Wong. The raloi delegation has officially arrived on board the Citadel. Celebrations on the raloi home world of Turvess ended 2 weeks ago. The raloi delegates will have to wear envirosuits at all times whilst in the presence of aliens owing to the outbreak of the deadly H7N7 flu virus that infected some of the raloi during the opening ceremonies. The delegation will now spend the next three months being educated in galactic matters as well as having the chance to experience the galactic community first hand._

_Wow_, Saphyria thought to herself, _a new race making their first steps into the galactic community_. She thought of how she had been feeling since arriving on the Citadel. Overwhelmed and a little afraid probably didn't come close to the realization that you're not alone in the galaxy. Also the raloi had to wear envirosuits, like the quarians, and also the volus. She smiled to herself and clicked the terminal off; she was finally starting to realize that she should be enjoying this adventure of hers, rather than being afraid.


End file.
